I could swear..It must be....Turkey love!
My daughter in law, Beth, came over yesterday and helped me set the table for the big day. At this stage of my life, I have a very difficult time getting things out that are in the lower cabinets ... that is where I keep the fancy stuff, and she's both petite and young (of which I am neither), so she was gracious enough to lend me a hand.
Once the tables were set, it was time for Boompa and me to go to work. I decided that it was time for him to learn to make dressing, so we accomplished this annual chore together last night for the first time in 50 years. Together we chopped, stirred and stuffed last night and here is the final result in the early stage sans Tom the Turkey.
I set my alarm for 5:00 a.m. this morning and woke up before it actually buzzed (that afforded Papa more sleep and that's always good for him). I also started the gravy by cooking the giblets and getting things ready for the final product.
Another somewhat strange tradition we have here at the Salazar household (and we have lots of those) is deviled eggs as an appetizer. The whole family loves them, so I was up early in order to hard boil 2 dozen eggs, and get them ready to be deviled so they would be ready when the family arrives.
Everyone arrived on time ( they always seem to when there is food involved) and immediately hit the appetizer table which had the deviled eggs, cream cheese with chipotle-chile-raspberry sauce on it, black olives and corn relish with jalapenos which Nicholas and Dayna always bring. Everything was delicious!
As soon as the snacking began, it was time for a little libation. We all gathered in the bar and discussed Thanksgivings past, drew names for Christmas gift exchange next month and had a Bloody Mary or two.
In case you didn't notice by the clothing, the majority of our family members are big time Cowboy Fans. Matt, Rachel's husband, is almost as big a fan as Boomps (he would be bigger if he had lived that long ;-) He and his Dad were friends of Tom Landry, so he has a very personal interest in "da Boys".
Of course there's always one in every crowd and today was Franklin's turn. He had to do his Chinese routine when he saw the lid to the ice bucket. Silly boy!
Boompa had a quiz for the little boys and when the "contest" was over, each one of them was given a monetary reward for right answers. He's such a good Boompa ... always has something special planned for the boys.
If there is one thing Frank loves, it's coats! Every time he goes to a department store, he comes home with another coat or jacket. We decided that we would have a shopping day at the "Salazar House of Coats", so the guys took their pick of 38 new or near new pieces of clothing for their added attraction and the price was right ... $00.00!
We will give the rest to a charitable institution and hopefully they will keep someone warm who is less fortunate that we are.
My only concern was how the younger ones might have felt since nothing would fit them. Ian decided that he could take several and grow into them but we discouraged it since he had about sixteen zillion sizes to go!
Once the "sale" was over, we headed for the kitchen and Papa and Nicholas went to work on the turkey bird. Nicky got the stuffing out of him, and then Boomps started to carve as Connor watched.
Even though I tend to set a very formal table, since we don't have someone to serve us, we gather in a circle, thank the Lord for our many blessings, and then serve ourselves from a buffet type situation. It seems to work better this way.
The young men still eat in the kitchen (that way they can misbehave and not be under our constant scrutiny) and we eat in the dining room. As they get older, they will "graduate" to the big table!
Those of us who are more mature (does that include Franklin and his Chinese hat???) sit at the dining room table with the crystal, china and candles, even though it's the wrong time of day to have lighted candles on the table according to Emily Post. I know that ... but I just love candlelight, even at noon ... so who really cares if I'm politically and socially incorrect on thanksgiving! It looks pretty!!!
I managed to max my plate out and everything was absolutely delicious!
It made me very very happy :-)
Beth made Potato Rolls, pumpkin bread and these absolutely adorable sugar cookies for the boys since pumpkin pie isn't their favorite (they don't know what they missed ... BUT ... that left more for us!!!)
Rachel made some of the most delicious pumpkin pies I've ever tasted (Boomps wanted the whole thing but I waited for the whipped cream!)
Nicholas and Dayna brought their wonderful corn relish with cream cheese and jalapeno peppers along with a green bean casserole. What more could one ask for!
We decided (or at least I did) that I would provide the turkey, dressing and gravy and the rest of the family could bring the rest. One of these days it will be their turn to do the whole meal, so they need to learn the ropes, so to speak. We won't be around as long as they will!
We polished off most of the turkey
and ate all of the rest of the food, so once we finished the meal, we decided that we needed a little fresh air and went outside.
I've always thought that Ian was a little monkey and he proved me right today!
Papa and Paco left for the football game and the rest of the family helped with the clean up. I'm so blessed. My back problems won't allow me to stand for any length of time, so my wonderful family always pitches in and puts leftovers in the frig, they do the dishes and leave my home like nothing ever happened today.
That's why I'm so grateful for digital images so I can remember and share with you this very special time.
Now that the "party's over", Harry, our youngest and smallest family member says, "Let's get the heck out of Dodge". He's tired of being an onlooker.
I'll leave you on a more serious note. I thank God daily for each and every one of you. I cannot tell you how much your friendships mean to me and to Frank. We are truly blessed to have such wonderful friends and for all of you, we give thanks!
With love, Pcasso
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